Language studying big Duolingo has acquired the London-based crew behind hit music-based online game Beatstar.
Duolingo’s ‘acqui-hire’ of 23 workers from NextBeat alerts the agency’s rising dedication to increasing its music training choices.
In accordance with an organization announcement at this time (August 6), the ‘acqui-hire’ will see Duolingo take in specialists in recreation design, consumer retention and monetization, sound design, and music licensing from NextBeat.
The experience of NextBeat’s crew will energy the subsequent chapter of Duolingo’s gamified studying experiences, with a deal with constructing upon Duolingo’s Music course.
“Studying ought to be simply as partaking as taking part in an excellent recreation, whether or not you’re practising a brand new language or taking part in a favourite track,” mentioned Bob Meese, Chief Enterprise Officer at Duolingo.
“This can be a strategic guess on expertise. The NextBeat crew brings deep cell gaming and music trade experience, which can make our Music course and all the Duolingo platform extra pleasant, immersive, and efficient.”
NextBeat is a music gaming startup based by serial entrepreneurs Simon Hade, Olly Barnes, and Joe Adams.
The corporate is finest identified for the hit video games Beatstar and Nation Star, which had been spun out of House Ape Video games upon its acquisition by cell gaming big Supercell final 12 months.
In accordance with the agency, NextBeat’s hit cell rhythm video games have reached over 100 million downloads and generated almost $200 million in income.
“From day one, it was clear that Duolingo and NextBeat share the identical values: placing learners first, obsessing over nice design, and by no means taking ourselves too critically,” mentioned Simon Hade, CEO of NextBeat.
“Becoming a member of forces means we are able to convey our ardour for music and play to a platform that’s redefining how folks study.”
MBW understands {that a} group of NextBeat staff will stay with the corporate to function Beatstar and Nation Star, which pay out an eight-figure sum in royalties to music rightsholders yearly.
Pittsburgh-headquartered Duolingo has constructed a enterprise round making studying really feel like gaming, utilizing options like streaks, achievements, and aggressive parts to encourage day by day utilization amongst its 500 million-plus registered customers.
Duolingo went public on the Nasdaq in July 2021, elevating USD $521 million at a $3.7 billion valuation.
The corporate now has a market capitalization of roughly $15.6 billion.
In its first quarter 2025 outcomes, Duolingo reported $230.74 million in income, representing 38% year-over-year progress, and surpassed 10 million paid subscribers.
The corporate’s flagship app has develop into the world’s hottest language studying platform and the top-grossing app within the Training class on each Google Play and the Apple App Retailer.
The monetary phrases of the NextBeat ‘acqui-hire’ weren’t disclosed.
Duolingo generates income primarily by way of subscriptions to its premium Duolingo Plus service, which has proven sturdy progress with a 46% YoY subscription income enhance within the second quarter of 2025.
The corporate additionally earns income from promoting, its Duolingo English Take a look at certification program, and in-app purchases.
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